Chapter 26

Looking at the five rogue cultivators surrounding him from front and back, with the leader being a late Foundation Establishment stage scar-faced man, Lin Xuan was not panicked at all, but instead felt a bit... intimate.

This familiar scene made him feel as if he had returned to the feeling of being in Qingyun City when he first transmigrated. However, he was no longer that Qi Refinement little cultivator who needed to kneel and beg for mercy.

He appropriately showed a look of "terror" on his face, his body trembled slightly, and his voice "trembled": "Se... several heroes, I... I am just a poor rogue cultivator, I don't... don't have many spirit stones on me..."

The scar-faced man gave a grim laugh and shook the ghost-head blade in his hand: "Cut the crap! I've been watching you for a long time! You spent one thousand spirit stones at Old Wang's place to buy a pile of junk without blinking, and you're pretending to be poor in front of me? If you're sensible, hand over the storage bag, and I'll spare your dog life!"

The other cultivators also let out malicious laughter and slowly closed in.

Lin Xuan sneered inwardly; it turned out he had been targeted in the treasure hunting area. While continuing to maintain his "fearful" disguise, he secretly circulated his spiritual power and quickly thought about how to deal with them.

Directly reveal his Golden Core cultivation and kill them in seconds? That would be too easy for them, and in this imperial capital, killing people in the street, even if the other party were bandits, could attract trouble from the city patrol guards, which did not conform to his (temporary) principle of keeping a low profile.

Use a brick to knock them out? That would be handy, but the commotion might not be small either.

It seems he had to use a "civilized" way.

His gaze swept over the few people, and suddenly a plan came to his mind.

"Se... several heroes, don't do it! I'll give it! I'll give it, okay?" Lin Xuan "begged" while slowly untying the storage bag at his waist (the ordinary one).

Just as his fingers were about to touch the storage bag, he seemed to "stumble" because of "excessive nervousness," and his body involuntarily lunged forward, just hitting a short cultivator on the left who was only at the early Foundation Establishment stage!

That short cultivator subconsciously reached out to push him away.

At the moment their bodies touched, a wisp of imperceptible Golden Core spiritual power from Lin Xuan's fingertips pierced into the other party's body like a fine needle, precisely sealing several of his key acupoints!

"Ugh!" The short cultivator only felt his whole body go numb, his spiritual power instantly became sluggish, and he couldn't even make a sound, standing stiffly in place, with only his eyeballs able to turn in terror.

All this happened in a flash of lightning. To others, it looked like Lin Xuan had "accidentally" bumped into his companion, and then his companion had been stunned.

"Monkey! What the hell are you dazing for!" The scar-faced man cursed with dissatisfaction.

However, Lin Xuan's "performance" was not over yet. He steadied his figure in "panic" and apologized repeatedly: "Sorry, sorry! I didn't mean it!" At the same time, his feet "slipped" again, and his body twisted and bumped into another cultivator on the other side.

Same method!

Another early Foundation Establishment stage cultivator was "bumped" by him and stood stiffly on the spot!

With two people hit in a row, the scar-faced man felt something was wrong no matter how slow he was! His face changed: "Damn! This kid is weird! Attack together, kill him!"

The remaining three, including the scar-faced man and two mid-stage Foundation Establishment cultivators, simultaneously activated their spiritual tools and lunged at Lin Xuan!

"Ah! Murder! City patrol guards, help!" Seeing this, Lin Xuan immediately opened his throat and shouted miserably with a voice containing a trace of spiritual power, while his footsteps became extremely "messy," swaying left and right in the narrow alley like a drunkard, narrowly avoiding the incoming blade light and a fireball technique.

His movement technique looked chaotic and full of flaws, but he could always dodge attacks just right, and "unintentionally" lead the attacks toward the other two companions who were frozen.

"Bang!"

A blade energy from the scar-faced man that he couldn't stop in time grazed Lin Xuan's clothes and slashed directly onto the shoulder of the cultivator nicknamed "Monkey," instantly causing blood to flow! Unfortunately, the latter was frozen and couldn't even scream.

"Bastard!" The scar-faced man was both shocked and angry.

A wind blade released by another cultivator was also "accidentally" "bumped" by Lin Xuan with his back, deviating from its direction and hitting the wall of the alley, leaving a deep mark.

While dodging "miserably," Lin Xuan continued to call for help loudly, his voice as miserable as if he were being tortured by the ten great punishments.

The commotion here finally attracted attention.

"Who is making noise and fighting here!" A majestic, stern shout came from the alley entrance.

A team of city patrol guards wearing standard black armor and exuding a fierce aura rushed in, and the captain leading them actually had the cultivation of the early Golden Core stage!

Seeing the city patrol guards, the scar-faced man and the others turned pale, knowing they had kicked an iron plate today! They wanted to run, but Lin Xuan's "messy" footsteps and calls for help invisibly blocked their best escape routes.

"Officer! Officer, help!" Lin Xuan, as if seeing a savior, crawled to the side of the guard captain, pointed at the scar-faced man and the others, and cried (acted), "They... they are robbing in broad daylight! And they want to kill me to silence me! Look, my companions have been beaten and injured by them!"

He pointed to the two "Monkey" and the other companion who were still standing stiffly and bleeding on their shoulders.

The guard captain swept his sharp gaze over the scene. Five clearly ill-intentioned cultivators were surrounding an "Qi Refinement Stage" rogue cultivator, two of whom were injured and standing stiffly, there were traces of fighting on the ground, and both human evidence (Lin Xuan) and physical evidence (the injured) were present, making the case clear.

"Audacious! How dare you commit robbery in the imperial capital! Take them all!" The guard captain snorted coldly and waved his hand.

The team members behind him lunged like tigers and wolves. The scar-faced man still wanted to resist, but was directly restrained by a wisp of spiritual power from the guard captain. The others had no power to resist at all, and together with the two who were frozen, they were tied up tightly with chains.

"Officer, your eyes are like torches! Thank you, Officer, for saving my life!" Lin Xuan looked grateful and bowed repeatedly.

【Ding! Detected the frustration and despair of the scar-faced man and others, emotion points +3333!】

【Ding! Detected that the sense of justice of the city patrol guards was satisfied, emotion points +666!】

The guard captain looked at Lin Xuan, seeing that he indeed only had "Qi Refinement Stage" cultivation and was dressed ordinarily, not looking like a fake, so he waved his hand: "Alright, be careful in the future. Although the imperial capital is big, it is not all a good place. You can go."

"Yes, yes, yes! Thank you, Officer!" Lin Xuan thanked him again, then lowered his head and walked quickly out of the alley.

Walking out of the alley, the "terror" and "gratitude" on his face instantly disappeared, replaced by a playful smile.

Without any effort, he had solved the trouble and cleaned up a few pieces of trash for the imperial capital, feeling even more comfortable.

He patted the dust that didn't exist on his body and was about to return to the Four Seas Pavilion, but his gaze was attracted by a striking notice posted on a wall not far away.

That notice was issued by the imperial dynasty officially, the paper glowed with spiritual light, and the text on it used special methods, making it unforgettable at a glance.

"Conscription Order: Recently, there have been abnormal movements in the Ten Thousand Beast Mountain Range, and low-rank exotic beasts are restless, fearing the danger of a beast tide. To prevent trouble, we are specifically conscripting cultivators at the Golden Core stage and above to form clearing squads, go deep into the mountain range, investigate the source, and clear out high-rank exotic beasts. Participants will be rewarded with spirit stones, elixirs, and cultivation arts based on their merit. Those with outstanding merit can obtain 'Condensing Core Jade Liquid' or treasures of equal value..."

Condensing Core Jade Liquid!

Lin Xuan's gaze instantly locked onto these four words!

The Four Seas Merchant Guild supported his bidding, but there were many competitors, and it might not be a sure thing. This imperial dynasty conscription order actually listed "Condensing Core Jade Liquid" as one of the rewards! And it was exchanged through merit, which seemed to be another path compared to the auction?

Ten Thousand Beast Mountain Range... He remembered that the previous information said that Ye Chen and Liaochen also went to the Ten Thousand Beast Mountain Range? Could it be related to this abnormal movement?

Risk and opportunity coexist. Participating in this clearing mission would certainly mean facing the risk of a beast tide, but it was also an opportunity to quickly obtain merit and exchange for "Condensing Core Jade Liquid," while also being able to inquire about Ye Chen's news.

Lin Xuan touched his chin, a look of thought flashing in his eyes.

"It seems that before returning to the Four Seas Pavilion, I must go to this 'Conscription Office' to take a look."

He changed direction and walked toward the Imperial Conscription Office indicated on the notice.

A new choice had been placed in front of him.

(Chapter 26 End)